Bone conduction is an established technique which enables deaf people to communicate. Typical examples comprise a transducer which is mounted adjacent a user's ear so as to transmit sound to a user via conduction through the mastoid bone. However, known devices suffer from drawbacks such as excess pressure on the skull and the necessity of a heavy transducer means that their use is limited. For example, known hearing devices are currently manufactured by HiSonic and Viennatone but both devices use large and heavy transducers. Thus the devices are somewhat uncomfortable and cumbersome.
Traditional headsets have an earpiece and microphone connected together and thus care must be taken to avoid acoustical feedback. Hearing devices also suffer from this common problem of local feedback.
Similarly, in all telecommunications applications, the handset must comprise a microphone and an earpiece since it is necessary to transmit speech from a user to a microphone and onwards to a remote listener. A similar process occurs for communication to be transmitted from the remote listener to the user. Thus, if there is any acoustical coupling between the microphone and earpiece in the handset, some form of feedback through the transmission network will occur. Accordingly, a normally fully duplex telecomms network has to switch between different modes to combat this problem.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved communications device in which these known problems of weight and feedback are alleviated.